Special Service and Features
Eight teams share learnings in the FINALE of IIT Madras Gopalakrishnan-Deshpande Centre's I-NCUBATE Program
GDC helps entrepreneurs evaluate the market relevance of their innovations and boosts their odds of success:Dr. Anita Gupta, DST
A total of eight teams from the 19th Cohort of the I-NCUBATE Program organized by the Gopalakrishnan-Deshpande Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship  of the Indian Institute of Technology Madras presented their learnings and narrated how the program transformed their entrepreneurial journey during the virtual FINALE held on Friday .
I-NCUBATE is an eight-week boot camp for early-stage start-ups. It helps these teams to achieve lab-to-market transformation of their research ideas into start-ups that create positive social and economic impact at scale.
Addressing virtually the FINALE of the 19th Cohort of I-NCUBATE Program on Friday  Chief Guest Dr. Anita Gupta, Head , Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, said,“The Gopalakrishnan-Deshpande Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship  is a unique concept as it helps the start-ups to identify if they should go ahead with their ideas. This helps in building confidence in young, aspiring entrepreneurs. During my visit to the Research Park of IIT Madras, it was evident that the investors were hunting for start-ups as the Park is a mark of the evolved ecosystem.”
Further, Dr. Anita Gupta said,“India has progressed well in terms of start-ups. From the Government’s side, there is no dearth of funds for supporting start-ups. The aspiring entrepreneurs should reach out to the right department at the right time. In the private sector, there is an array of Venture Capitalists and Angel Investors who are willing to invest in good ideas.”
The eight teams in Cohort 19 came from six different institutions including IIT Bombay, IISc, Bengaluru, and VIT, Vellore. The teams included Research Scholars, undergraduate students, and young entrepreneurs.
During the FINALE, the applicants explained their research idea, innovation, and its potential social or business impact. The team members also explained how GDC’s program helped them to gain insights into their potential customers’ needs and pain points.
Addressing the program, Prof. Krishnan Balasubramanian, Professor-in-charge, GDC, IIT Madras, said,“India aspires to become the innovation hub of the world, and IIT Madras and GDC have unique roles to play in this mission. IIT Madras has a thriving deep-tech culture with over 250 startups and is recognized as India’s leading university-based deep-tech innovation ecosystem. GDC started as an experiment at IIT Madras five years back, has evolved very well and scaled across India. GDC plays a critical role in nurturing this culture, not just within the campus but across the country. Faculty and students from over 35 educational institutions have participated in GDC programs so far. The spirit of the I-NCUBATE and I-NSPIRE programs can also be extended successfully to Science and Commerce colleges.”
Speaking about I-NCUBATE’s origins, Mr. Raghuttama Rao, Chief Executive Officer, GDC, IIT Madras, said,“The program was conceptualized drawing inspiration from the I-Corps program of the National Science Foundation  in the US. I-NCUBATE was designed by GDC to suit the unique requirements of India’s context. Over the past four years, GDC has conducted nearly 30 cohorts of I-NCUBATE and I-NSPIRE, and these programs are ready to be scaled over 500 STEM Colleges and Technology incubators across India. In the US, all federal funding for research-based commercialization requires the beneficiary startup team to undergo the I-Corps program, which helps it immensely. In the Indian startup ecosystem, while most components have been addressed by the Government, the big missing piece is a robust Customer Discovery exercise. The government’s support would be critical to scaling up such programs.”
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